The effect of Ni/Cu-coating residuals on the magnetic properties and microstructures of samarium-cobalt (SmCo5) magnets was studied. SmCo5 magnets with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 wt.% of added Ni/Cu (85 wt.% Ni/15 wt.% Cu) were prepared using a conventional sintering route. The magnetic properties of the magnets were found to be consistent up to 2 wt.% Ni/Cu. Any further increase in the Ni/Cu content resulted in a significant reduction in the magnetic properties, to lower than values that would be commercially acceptable. SEM/EDS studies showed that two major phases, i.e., the SmCo5 matrix phase and Sm2O3 were present in all the sintered SmCo5 magnets. The presence of Sm2Co7 as a minor phase fraction was detected in the sintered SmCo5 magnets containing up to 2 wt.% Ni/Cu. A 2 wt.% Ni/Cu addition to magnets resulted in the presence of two new phases with compositions close to SmCo and Sm2Co17 in addition to SmCo5 and Sm2O3 as major phases in the SEM-observed microstructure. These newly formed phases are present in small fractions and are presumably homogenously distributed at the grain boundaries of the magnets. As they are known to act as nucleation sites for reverse magnetic domains, they effectively reduce the intrinsic grain boundary magnetic strength, leading to a drop in the coercivity. We concluded that the sintered SmCo5 magnets could be recycled with up to 2 wt.% Ni/Cu as a residual from the coating under our sintering and heat treatment conditions.
Keywords: Ni/Cu coating; SmCo5 magnets; magnetic coercivity; microstructure; recycling; scanning electron microscopy (SEM).